At Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (CNPC), our mission is to build community, enrich lives, and catalyze support to ensure a sustainable national park for future generations. A core part of that work is helping increase access to Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), so that everyone feels welcome, represented, and connected to this incredible public space!

This Black History Month, we’re reflecting on the deep and often overlooked connections between Black history and the outdoors, while also uplifting local organizations that are actively expanding access, building community, and enriching lives through outdoor experiences today.

Exploring Access and Visibility: Who Gets to Feel Welcomed in Outdoor Spaces?

For generations, the outdoors has been a place of freedom, healing, resistance, and joy for all. Yet systemic barriers like segregation, exclusion from public lands, and ongoing inequities have limited access and visibility in outdoor spaces for people of color.

Today, Black-led and BIPOC-centered outdoor organizations are helping change that reality. Through intentional programming, shared experiences, and community-led leadership, these groups are creating entry points into nature that feel welcoming and safe. Their work aligns closely with CNPC’s belief that access to the outdoors strengthens not only individuals, but the community as a whole.

BLK Hiking Club

BLK Hiking Club is where Black hikers can explore, connect, and thrive in the great outdoors. Whether someone is new to hiking or a seasoned hiker, the club creates a welcoming space to hit the trail and feel at home. Through group hikes and shared outdoor experiences, BLK Hiking Club builds community while celebrating Black joy in nature. Their outings (with some taking place within CRNRA) center connection, movement, and belonging, helping make hiking more accessible and community-focused in Georgia and beyond.

By reinforcing that everyone belongs on the trail, BLK Hiking Club plays a powerful role in expanding access and enriching lives through experiences in the outdoors!

Learn more at blkhikingclub.com!

Black Women Adventures

Color My Outdoors

Who gets to feel at home in the outdoors? In the Southeast, history has long suggested it isn’t everyone, but Color My Outdoors is changing the narrative. This grassroots nonprofit helps People of Color see themselves, belong, and lead in nature. Through programs like their Wilderness Medicine Scholarship Certification, a multimedia storytelling program, a parent orientation program, and a directory of diverse-led outdoor organizations, CMO amplifies the outdoors as a welcoming and vibrant space in a region where Communities of Color are most present, yet often excluded.

Learn more at colormyoutdoors.org!

Why Access Matters at CRNRA
Increasing access to CRNRA isn’t just about trails, river access, or programming… it’s about people! When individuals feel welcome and represented in outdoor spaces, parks become places of connection and belonging.

By supporting equitable access and uplifting community partners, CNPC works to ensure that the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area reflects and serves the communities that surround it, enjoy it, and have yet to discover it.

Our Ongoing Commitment
As we honor Black History Month, we celebrate both the legacy of Black connection to the land and the ongoing work happening right now to make sure everyone feels they belong when exploring the outdoors. We’re grateful to the organizations leading this work and to the communities who continue to show up, build community, and enrich lives through shared experiences outside. With our community, we can continue creating a national park where everyone feels welcome and where the outdoors truly belongs to all.

Want to get involved? Support these organizations, explore CRNRA, and join us in building a more inclusive future for our national park!

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Support Your Local National Park

If you enjoy CRNRA, consider supporting the Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (CNPC). Your donation helps maintain and improve our beautiful trails and river, ensuring they remain a top destination and escape for metro Atlanta. Every contribution makes a difference in preserving this natural treasure for future generations.

Support CRNRA

Dog-Friendly Hikes in Atlanta: Explore the Chattahoochee With Your Four-Legged Adventure Buddy

August 24, 2026

If your dog thinks a walk around the neighborhood is fine, but a hike is the event of the day, Atlanta has plenty of places to go exploring together. And one of the best is right in our backyard: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA)! Stretching 48 miles along the Chattahoochee River through metro Atlanta, CRNRA is a national park made up of 15 separate park units and more than 7,000 acres of land and river corridor. Across those units, visitors can explore over 66 miles of hiking trails , from easy riverside walks to steeper, more rugged routes. In other words: there is a lot of Chattahoochee to sniff! Yes, Your Dog Can Hike at CRNRA Dogs are welcome on CRNRA's trails, making the park a favorite destination for Atlanta's canine adventurers. There is one very important rule, though: dogs must remain on a leash no longer than six feet at all times. Owners are also responsible for cleaning up after their pets and properly disposing of waste. These rules aren't just about being a good trail neighbor. CRNRA welcomes more than 3 million visitors each year, and the park is home to wildlife, sensitive habitats, and a river that supplies much of metro Atlanta's drinking water. Keeping dogs leashed helps protect pets, people, wildlife, and the park itself. And yes, we know: carrying a bag of dog poop around for the rest of your hike isn't exactly the highlight of anyone's day... But leaving a bag beside the trail or river is even worse! CNPC has partnered with the National Park Service to install dog waste stations at major trailheads, making it easier to bag it and bin it.

Celebrating National Park Week in Your Local National Park

August 12, 2026

Ever driven a winding, elk-lined road in Great Smoky Mountains, stopped to take in the scenery in Grand Teton, paddled in the Everglades, watched Ole Faithful erupt in Yellowstone, or even hiked in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA)? If so, then you've enjoyed a national park! Every year since 1991, people across the country celebrate the over 430 parks protected by the National Park Service during National Park Week, hosted August 22-30th, 2026. From iconic landscapes like Yosemite to neighborhood escapes in CRNRA, it’s a time to recognize how parks connect, inspire, and restore communities across America, now and for future generations. It’s also a reminder that places like CRNRA rely on community support. With nearly 3 million visits each year, CRNRA is consistently ranked among the top 30 most visited national parks. As a well-loved park, it faces ongoing challenges including limited federal funding, staffing, and maintenance needs. Without the support of a national park's community, projects often go without sufficient funding to help them thrive. That's where organizations like Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy come in! Many national parks across the country have a "friends group," or a philanthropic partner, to raise awareness, rally support, and fill in the gaps in funding, volunteerism, education, wildlife habitat restoration, and more. As CRNRA's official friends group and nonprofit partner, we at CNPC work alongside the National Park Service to help fill critical gaps through community support, volunteer engagement, and projects that enhance the park experience.

Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy Launches Campaign to Preserve Historic Sope Creek Paper Mill Ruins

July 24, 2026

Conservancy will begin first phase of multi-year restoration project at one of metro Atlanta's most beloved historic landmarks

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Building Community and Access on the Trail